NCHL: Hail to the Victors from Championship Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012

NCHL "Championship Sunday" should have been called "Upset Sunday" as all 3 regular-season division champs came away empty-handed. (Well, no one went away truly empty-handed, as everyone received trophies; they just didn’t win Championship Medals.) Some thoughts after Championship Sunday:

First of all, I’d like to say THANK YOU to the many people who helped us get the Boys and Girls Club Rink ready for Championship Sunday after the delay due typical HMB liquid Summer weather. Also, special thanks to:
-Snack Shack/Flying Puck Cafe mavens Barb Capers, Theresa Cossman, Jennifer Islander, Melissa Page, and Amy Risk. All year long, they were the ultimate purveyors of fine food.–The audio team of Scott Kinzey and Gino Padua for our rockin’ sound system.
-Referees Scott Brovarney, Evan Farbstein, Pace Farbstein, Ethan Glasman, Zeb Miller, Tyler Olson, Joe Wenzell, and Sam Winters, among others, who officiated on Sunday, and all year.
-PA announcer Pat Olson, and scorekeepers/timekeepers Charlie Miller, Joel Glasman, and Raven Chalif, among several volunteer assistants paid with only Meal Deals and Snack Bucks.
-Our sponsors and our coaches, for their generous time, patience, knowledge, tutelage, caring, and more:

HMB Lions Club overcame a 2-goal deficit halfway through the third period to win the Bantam Division crown when Jordan Shepherd set up Andy Olson’s shorthanded goal 10:24 into Sudden Victory Overtime. Both teams had chances to win in bonus time, when Dexter Hamilton made 5 of his 30 saves, and Morgan Hovermale stopped 3 of 31 shots.

The #4 seed defeated the #2 seed in the see-saw game that was tied 4 times. Shepherd scored 3 times and had 2 assists. Zane Hovermale and Andy Olson each had a goal and 2 assists, Tom Martin had a goal, and North Cossman added a helper. Krister Lansing had a hat trick and 2 assists, Sam King had a goal and 2 assists, and Indigo Kinzey had a goal and an assist in defeat.

Karsten Lansing’s second-period goal stood up as tough defense and 23 saves from Keagan Maguire led Maguire Tree Care to the 4-3 upset win over top-seeded P4-Godoy Construction. Jake Metz had a goal and an assist and TJ Nilsen also scored for the PeeWee champs.

Nolan Gallant had both goals for Godoy Construction, and Jessica Oseguera stopped 18 shots for the regular-season champions.

Squirt Final: S1-Dr. Moody defeated S2-Dr. Maahs 7-3

PJ Modena and Sequoyah Klingele had hat tricks to lead Dr. Moody to the upset over the regular season champs. Alex Stevens had a goal and an assist and Laurel Mitton had a helper, while Robby Mitton made 16 saves as Dr. Moody rallied from a 3-2 hole midway through the game.

Alan Ou had a hat trick and Abigaile Co and Allison Co combined to make 10 saves for Dr. Maahs.

With only 3 regular-season wins, HMB Lions Club shocked B3-Ocean Shore Ace Hardware 5-4 when a clearing pass deflected off North Cossman and in the net with only :14 left in regulation. Jordan Shepherd set up 4 goals, including 3 by Andy Olson, and Zane Hovermale also scored, while Morgan Hovermale stopped 30 shots.

Pace Farbstein had 4 goals, Zeb Miller had 2 assists and Charlie Miller had a helper while Michael George made 19 saves in defeat for the regular-season champions.

PeeWee Division champion Godoy Construction took care of business in its semifinal game with a convincing 7-1 win over Christine Maren Salon. Nolan Gallant had 3 goals, Elijah Lurie added a pair and Treythan Krieger and Joel Glasman also scored. Pablo Jaramillo and Sydney Gallant had assists, while Jessica Oseguera stopped 7 shots.

Cameron DeVry scored off a pass from Sasha Kulda, and Jacob Poss made 26 saves for Christine Maren Salon.

PeeWee Semifinal #2: P1-Maguire Tree Care upset P2-Fincon 7-4

Maguire Tree Care, with 2 regular season wins, upset 7-win Fincon on the strength of 2 goals each by Logan Bautista, TJ Nilsen, and Karsten Lansing. Jake Metz opened the scoring for the third-seeded team, and Keagan Maguire made 17 saves.

PJ Modena had a pair of goals and Laurel Mitton and Sequoyah Klingele scored for Dr. Moody. Robby Mitton had 7 saves in the semifinal shutout. Annie Ginna, Evan Alexander and Jonathan Billington made 13 saves in defeat.

Doubleshot Finals: Steve Islander claimed the NCHL DoubleShot title when he scored in the fourth round of the DoubleShot DoubleShootout, to best a field of 7 (from 18 regular-season qualifiers). Islander won year-long bragging rights, a lifetime (free) subscription to Scores ’n More newsletter, a $50 gift certificate for fine dining at Cameron’s Restaurant and Inn, plus a pair of tickets to a game during the inaugural season of the San Francisco Bulls. Sharon Gallant earlier had come closest to winning when she got her daily fill of iron by clanging one off the post in the second round. In case you were wondering (and who isn’t?), contestants made 19 of roughly 260 shots in the 2012 competition; roughly a 7.3% success rate. Steve Islander certainly earned his title.

Watch your email Inbox for upcoming announcements on Fall Hockey, the Sharks & Parks tourney, and other opportunities from the NCHL!

I’ll add one personal note of thanks to everyone for making this such a fun season! Really appreciated having your players (and families) participate in the NCHL and make the 2012 season so enjoyable. Hope to see you at the BGC Rink again soon! -Joel